Maggi
Andersen fell in love with the Georgian and Regency worlds after reading the
books of Georgette Heyer. Victoria Holt's Gothic Victorian novels were also
great favorites.
She has
raised three children and gained a BA and an MA in Creative Writing. After
husband David retired from the law, they moved to the beautiful Southern
Highlands of Australia.
Maggi's free
time is spent enjoying her garden and the local wildlife, reading, movies and
the theatre. She keeps fit swimming and visiting the gym.
Maggi is a
multi-published author, and writes mysteries and young adult novels as well as
her Georgian, Regency and Victorian romances.
Maggi will award a $50 Amazon GC plus an e-book copy of A Baron in Her Bed – The Spies of Mayfair, Book #1 to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Blurb:
John
Haldane, Earl of Strathairn, is on an urgent mission to find the killer of his
fellow spy. After visiting the young widow of one of his agents, Strathairn
strengthens his resolve. A spy should never marry, and most certainly not to
Lady Sibella Winborne, with her romantic ideas of love and marriage. Unable to
give Sibella up entirely, he has kept her close as a friend. Then, weak fool
that he is, he kissed her.
Lady
Sibella Winborne has refused several offers of marriage since she first set
eyes on the handsome Earl of Strathairn. Sibella’s many siblings always rush to
her aid to discourage an ardent suitor, but not this time. Her elder brother,
Chaloner, Marquess of Brandreth, has approved Lord Coombe’s suit. Sibella yearns to set up her own household.
She is known to be the sensible member of the family, but she doesn’t feel at
all sensible about Lord Strathairn. If only she could forget that kiss.
Excerpt:
Beneath
glistening chandeliers, the dancers spun to the strains of a Handel waltz.
Strathairn smiled down at his partner, her slim waist beneath his hand as they
danced. Lady Sibella Winborne looked like a delicate flower in a gauzy pale
gown covered in amber blossom. White ostrich feather plumes adorned her
luxuriant dark locks. He enjoyed looking at her. Her serene oval face lifted
and she smiled at him, her mouth wide and full. Too wide for beauty some might
say, but made for kissing. She had inherited her mother’s famous eyes, a
delectable mix of blue and green, but her nature was quieter, lacking the
vivacity of her mother in her youth, who was said to have had men falling at
her feet. He admired Sibella’s calm beauty, but she was oh, so much more:
practical, poised and intelligent. Yet still unmarried, which surprised him.
“You arrived
late tonight. I wasn’t sure you’d come,” she said.
“I was tied
up with business.”
“Not
parliament?”
“No.”
She tilted
her head. “Your horses, then?”
He grinned at
her blatant curiosity. “No.”
“No.”
Sibella
laughed with good humor. “Very well. Might I find you riding in Hyde Park
tomorrow?”
“I hope to.”
Her delicate
brows rose. “If business doesn’t keep you.”
He laughed.
“Precisely.”
The music
faded away. Strathairn escorted her back to her chair where her mother, the
Dowager Marchioness of Brandreth, sat fanning herself among the other dowagers.
He bowed, planning to slip into the rooms set aside for gambling. As much as he
might wish to dance with Sibella again, it would place them under scrutiny, and
faro was an effective release from the tension he always carried with him.
“Don’t rush
off, Strathairn,” her sharp-eyed mother said. “We have seen little of you of
late. You rarely frequent these affairs.” She waved her fan in an arc to
encompass the ballroom. “Where have you been hiding?”
“Not hiding,
my lady, merely visiting my estates.”
Lady
Brandreth adjusted the silk shawl over her shoulders. “Did you include that
pile of yours in Yorkshire? I enjoyed the hunt ball, but it’s cold as charity
in winter up in those parts.”
“Not this
time, but I miss it. There’s a wild beauty to the dales in winter, quite unlike
southern England.”
“I daresay.”
Her purple turban wobbled as she nodded. “You are a fine figure of a man,
Strathairn. What are you now? Six and thirty? You should marry. You should be
setting up your nursery.” She gestured toward her daughter sitting beside her.
“Sibella will bear you healthy children. The Brandreths come of good stock, and
the Wederells even better.”
“Mama,
please!” He caught Sibella’s apologetic gaze and suppressed a wry smile. Her
plea would have little effect; the marchioness was known to be one of the most
colorful and outspoken members of the ton.
The dowager
batted her daughter’s protest away with her fan. “I am merely speaking the
truth, Sibella.”
“Your
daughter is a credit to you, my lady,” he said with a smile. “She has inherited
both your beauty and intelligence.”
“Now you are
toad eating.” A roguish smile lit Lady Brandreth’s face. “You always were a
charmer. Sibella is intelligent. Walk with her on the terrace to discover it for
yourself.”
“I should be
delighted.”
Where to Buy:
6 comments:
thanks for hosting me, Isabel.
Thank you for hosting
I'm looking forward to reading the book. I have been enjoying the excerpts.
Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com
Sounds like an amazing read!!
Thanks for the excerpt and the chance to win!
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com
Sounds nice
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
They have good banter in this excerpt.
catherinelee100 at gmail dot com
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